Testing a Theory
by Traci
Summary: Post-ep for "The Unnatural" (season 5 or 6 I think) - This story picks up at the end. Mulder is teaching Scully how to bat.


Disclaimer: X-Files characters belong to Chris Carter and 1013. Parts of this particular story belong to David Duchovny and is used without permission. The lines spoken during the batting practice are from the script – they are not my own. I, um, just felt there was a whole, underlying story to his episode "The Unnatural" (a great episode I might add, and I'm not a huge fan of his, sorry  ) No financial gain is being made…if it were I wouldn't be working on this at work!  
  
Rating: Strong PG – double innuendo's  
  
Spoilers: The Unnatural and minor reference to Squeeze/Tooms  
  
Archive: Yes, oh please yes, just be sure to tell me where   
  
Author's notes: I know I am not the first and only person to already write filler scenes from this ep  . But there had to be more to the batting scene and we all knew it! Special thanks to Tracy for pressuring, er, encouraging me to write this hehehehe. Also, thanks to Tanja for emailing the transcript to me   
  
Feedback is always welcomed with open arms at traci_ann@yahoo.com  
  
   
  
Testing a Theory  
  
By: Traci – traci_ann@yahoo.com  
  
   
  
Scully flicked on the light as she entered her apartment. She had waited in the office for an hour for Mulder to return then decided to take a walk around the Mall. It was too nice of a day to stay inside. Now, as dusk had settled in the DC area, she had returned to her apartment.  
  
Throwing her coat on the couch, she reached for the phone to give Mulder a call and noticed there was a message on her machine.  
  
"Hey, Scully, Fox Mantle here. Meet me at the park. I've got a very special, very early or very late birthday present for you. Hurry."  
  
Scully threw her head back and sighed, then smiled. Picking up her coat, she went back out.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Mulder had only beat her to the park by twenty minutes. As he practiced his batting techniques, he was silently hoping Scully would show up. Ever since their exchange in his basement office earlier that afternoon he wanted to test a theory he had – and he wanted to test it with her.  
  
"So, uh…I get this message marked "urgent" on my answering service…"  
  
Mulder's heart stopped at the sound of her voice.  
  
"From one Fox Mantle telling me to come down to the park for a very special, very early or very late birthday present. And, Mulder… I don't see any nicely wrapped presents lying around so, what gives?"  
  
She looked so beautiful leaning against the metal gate. He nearly lost his concentration. Finding his voice he replied, "You've never hit a baseball, have you, Scully?"  
  
She was sure she would've collapsed if she hadn't leaned on the railing for support. Sure, Mulder had a boyish charm about him, but seeing him standing there in that baseball jersey, hazel eyes twinkling like a child was just too much for her to take. "No, I guess I have, uh… found more necessary thing to do with my time than…"  
  
Her voice. His mind started to wander. Him grabbing her and taking a bite out of her nonfat tofutti rice. He barely had time to react to the ball heading his way and hit it into the fence behind him.  
  
"Slap a piece of horsehide with a stick," she finished.  
  
He stopped. His mind racing in all sorts of directions. "Get over here, Scully."  
  
She hesitated for a brief moment, trying to regain her strength. Okay, I can do this. It's only Mulder. It is Mulder. She took a step and prayed she would remain standing.  
  
He held out the bat for her, never letting his right hand leave it, and proceeded to enclose her in his arms as he wrapped his hands around the bat with her. He knew he was dangerously close to playing with fire, but this night he just didn't care.  
  
"This is my birthday present, Mulder?" She couldn't get her heart to stop pounding in her ears. "You shouldn't have." There was no way she was going to let him know this was the best present she had ever received…late or not.  
  
"This ain't cheap. I'm paying that kid ten bucks an hour to shag balls." He leaned in close to her ear. "Not a bad piece of ash, huh?"  
  
What? What did he just say? She glanced at him.  
  
Oops, he thought. "The bat. I'm talking about the bat." He pulled it gently from her grasp. "Now, don't strangle it. You just want to shake hands with it." He knew she was smiling. "Hello, Mr. Bat. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Was that a suppressed giggle he heard coming from his partner? "Oh, no, no, Ms. Scully. The pleasure's all mine." And mine too, thought Mulder.  
  
Scully laughed and gripped the bat, settling her hands between Mulder's. All her nervousness melted away. There was just something about being in Mulder's arms…  
  
"Okay, now, we want to…" This could be dangerous. "We want to go hips before hands, okay?" Unsure of touching her, he held his hand inches from her hips to demonstrate. "We want to stride forward and turn. That's all we're thinking about."  
  
Yeah, right, they thought in unison.  
  
"So, we go hips…before hands, all right?" Deciding to chance it, he lightly touched her left hip, his own hips pressed firmly against her, and turned her.  
  
"Okay," Scully whispered.  
  
"One more time." This was too easy. He touched her hip more confidently this time and turned her with him.  
  
Scully tried to control her shiver as Mulder touched her. It was better than in her dreams. No, she needed to concentrate. She couldn't let Mulder know the effect he had on her.  
  
"Hips… before hands, all right?"  
  
"Yeah." It was taking every effort to speak.  
  
They returned to the start-off position.  
  
"What is it?" Mulder asked softly.  
  
Breathe, Dana. "Hips before hands."  
  
He leaned in closer, his lips nearly touching her ear, and whispered, "Right. We're going to wait on the pitch. We're going to keep our eye on the ball." Maybe. "Then we're just going to make contact."  
  
Now Scully's mind began to wander at the innuendo's of his directions. We're just going to make contact? When and where?  
  
"We're just going to let it fly, Scully, okay?"  
  
"Mm-hmm," was all she could mutter.  
  
"Ready?" He asked as he playfully covered her hands with his.  
  
She laughed and tried to push his hands away. "I'm in the middle," she smiled.  
  
After one last try, Mulder conceded and gripped the bat above and below her hands, both of them grinning.  
  
"Alright, fire away, Poorboy," Mulder called to the youngster.  
  
Mulder turned Scully with him as the ball connected with the bat. They moved as if one entity. Returning back to start-up, Mulder leaned in closer to her. "Ooh, that's good."  
  
They raised the bat together, preparing for the next pitch. "Alright, what you may find is you concentrate on hitting that little ball…"  
  
Scully felt a warmth flow through her as his breath tickled her ear and brushed through her hair.  
  
"The rest of the world just fades away…" he continued.  
  
Her mind, however, was not completely focused on baseball. I bet the air in my mouth tastes better than that.  
  
"All your everyday, nagging concerns."  
  
Scully giggled. If he only knew what has really on her mind right now.  
  
Another ball crossed the plate and, together, they hit it.  
  
Mulder felt as though he could bat all night if it meant keeping Scully in his arms like that. She was warm and soft and, at that moment, almost seemed young and innocent. He wanted to keep her there, with him, to protect her from all the evil he had brought into her life through his quest.  
  
Scully prepared to hit another ball.  
  
"How you probably couldn't afford that nice, new suede coat on a G-woman's salary."  
  
She smiled as the crack of the bat echoed in the night.  
  
"How you threw away a promising career in medicine…" Mulder moved in closer, nearly resting his lips on her ear. Breathing in the essence that was Scully.  
  
Scully shivered. She prayed he would believe it was due to the chilly evening.  
  
"To hunt aliens with a crackpot, albeit brilliant, partner."  
  
I wouldn't put my career on the line for anyone but you. She had said those words to him early in their partnership, but they still held as true for her today as they had back then. Glancing at him, she turned back quickly. What she saw in his eyes she knew were reflected in her own that night.  
  
"Getting to the heart of a global conspiracy. Your obscenely overdue triple- X bill."  
  
Scully stopped moving and looked at him.  
  
Realizing what he had blurted out, and why, he quickly covered with, "Oh, I… I'm sorry, Scully. Those last two problems are mine, not yours."  
  
She grinned at him and faced the pitching machine again. "Shut up, Mulder. I'm playing baseball."  
  
He smiled back at her, though she never saw.  
  
They continued batting well into the night, never breaking from each other. Finally, after four hours, the boy told them he had to go home. Mulder paid him, even throwing in a little extra, and turned back to homeplate. His heart stopped at the site of Scully standing there, leaning on the bat – head tilted slightly.  
  
"So, G-man, how did you know I would go for this?"  
  
"Go for what?" he asked walking towards her.  
  
She straightened up, holding the bat at her side. "Batting practice."  
  
Standing before her, he grinned. "I didn't. But I was certainly hoping you would."  
  
Scully's eyes locked with his. "Thank you, Mulder. I had a lot of fun tonight. It was just what I needed."  
  
He took the bat from her and slid an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "You're welcome," he said as he started to lead her off the baseball field. Something told him he'd be coming back to this particular field often. "Besides." He stopped and looked at her. "I think we both needed this."  
  
They continued to stare at each other. Scully nodded and they started for their cars.  
  
"Hey, Scully, did you park near me?"  
  
"Right next to you, why?"  
  
He smiled. "No reason."  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Scully unlocked her car door as Mulder went around to the trunk of his, presumably to put the batting equipment in there. She didn't want to leave him just yet. She didn't want the night to end. "Mulder?"  
  
"Hmm?" came the muffled reply from the trunk.  
  
"You hungry?"  
  
"Yeah." He poked his head around the side. "What did you have in mind, Agent Scully?" His eyes twinkled.  
  
She felt her face go flush yet once again that night. "I think I passed an all-night diner on the way here."  
  
He disappeared behind the trunk again. "Sounds good."  
  
"Mulder?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"How long does it take you to put a bat away?"  
  
Shutting the trunk, he laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know." He walked up to her, obviously hiding something behind his back. He stood within mere inches of her face. "Thank you for coming out tonight."  
  
"Sure, Mulder. I'm glad you called."  
  
"Um, I know I missed your birthday yet again this year…"  
  
She laughed. "It wouldn't be the same if you remembered."  
  
"Well, I, uh, saw something the other day and…" He handed her a large, gift- wrapped box.  
  
She looked up at him and smiled like a child in a candy store. "Aw, Mulder, you didn't…"  
  
"Just open it or I might change my mind."  
  
She did as he ordered. Lifting the lid off the box, she pulled out the suede coat she had been eyeing for awhile. Tears filled her eyes and she looked up at him.  
  
Smiling, he cupped her cheek, stroking it with his thumb. "You fell in love with it the moment we saw it."  
  
Placing it inside her car, she wrapped her arms around him, and he returned the gesture.  
  
"Thank you, Mulder."  
  
He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Thank you, Scully. Without you, I… well, I don't know what I'd be."  
  
They remained that way for some time.  
  
Mulder pulled away and looked down at her. "I thought you were hungry."  
  
She grinned. "Guess that nonfat tofutti rice dreamsicle just didn't cut it."  
  
He wrinkled his nose. Here's my chance. Please, Scully, please by on the same thought as me. "I'm sure I could think of something that would taste better than that."  
  
Here's my chance, she thought. "I'm sure you could. And as I recall you suggested something earlier today."  
  
Yes! "And what might that have been?" he asked, playing along.  
  
"Oh, just a theory of yours that probably should be tested." Her blue eyes sparkled brighter than the multitudes of stars above them.  
  
"And just what theory was that?"  
  
Without another word, she took his face in her hands and brought it down – gently brushing his lips with her own. Within seconds the kiss deepened. The spring chill they had both been feeling earlier dissipated as they melted together.  
  
Scully broke the kiss and smiled at him. "You were right?"  
  
Coherent thoughts were not something Mulder was capable at the moment so he merely asked, "Huh?"  
  
"About the air in your mouth. It does taste much better than that dreamsicle."  
  
He shook his head and pulled her into another kiss. Yep, he would be visiting his own "Field of Dreams" often.  
  
   
  
The End. 


End file.
